Direct link to video on Vimeo.
10/10/10 is variously Binary Day and 42 Day among geeks and Douglas Adams fans; a Global Day of Doing for greens; a day to try and record the world in photos and videos on Flickr; and among birders, the annual, international Big Sit bird count. For me, it was just a day to walk in the woods.
I approach videohaiku a little differently from regular videopoetry, as you’ll see. For one thing, I prefer the poem to appear as type, without audio. Also, the text can flow more directly from the imagery than with a regular videopoem. And finally, while some videohaiku makers use three short scenes in imitation of the three-line pattern that characterizes most English-language haiku, I prefer the style I’ve followed here: holding the poem until the end of a quiet, meditative scene or two. This resembles the effect of a poem on a scroll, or a haiku following a passage of prose (haibun).
I might get a second videopoem, haiku or otherwise, out of footage I shot today, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
This was wonderful, thanks. In the midst of a highly stressful day, I looked at your site and got to sit in the lovely woods for a moment.
Hi Mary – Thanks for commenting. It’s always good to hear that something I’ve posted has helped somebody make it through the day.
I love that train whistle. This is a really cool approach to video haiku and one that makes a lot of sense to me. I shot a little meditative footage of my own this weekend and will probably take a similar approach with it.
On a side note, I really like these quick one minute videos you’re doing. You’ve got me looking for scenes and considering trying something in a similar vein, ie: writing the poem in response to footage.
Thanks, James. I would love to see what you come up with — I’m sure it will be great. And it’s gratifying to hear that this format works for you. I still think of myself as pretty unsophisticated when it comes to film, but I guess curating Moving Poems for the past couple years has taught me a few tricks.